College Students with ADHD Use Cannabis More Often to Cope with Negative Emotions
In a daily diary study of heavy-drinking college students, those with ADHD used cannabis more frequently, driven by stronger motivation to use cannabis to cope with negative emotions.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Students with ADHD had significantly elevated coping motives (using cannabis to avoid or reduce negative affect) and more cannabis use days over two weeks. ADHD was linked to cannabis use frequency through coping motives — students with ADHD had a stronger drive to use cannabis to manage negative emotions, which led to more frequent use.
Key Numbers
42 students with ADHD, 30 without. 49% female. Two-week daily diary. ADHD associated with elevated coping motives and more cannabis use days. Significant indirect effect through coping motives.
How They Did This
Two-week daily diary study of heavy-drinking college students (49% female): 42 with ADHD, 30 without. Assessed baseline coping motives and daily cannabis use frequency. Tested indirect effect of ADHD on cannabis use days through coping motives.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding that ADHD drives cannabis use specifically through emotional coping needs — not just impulsivity — suggests that teaching adaptive coping skills could be a targeted intervention for reducing cannabis misuse in college students with ADHD.
The Bigger Picture
College is a high-risk period for substance use, and ADHD further increases vulnerability. Identifying coping motives as the mechanism provides a clear intervention target: helping students with ADHD develop substance-free strategies for managing negative emotions.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Small sample (n=72). Selected heavy-drinking students, so not representative of all college students with ADHD. Two-week observation period. Cannot determine causation. Self-reported ADHD and cannabis use.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would teaching adaptive coping skills reduce cannabis use in college students with ADHD?
- ?Do ADHD medications affect cannabis coping motives?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Daily diary methodology captures real-world behavior, but small sample, selected population (heavy drinkers), and short observation period limit generalizability.
- Study Age:
- 2025 publication.
- Original Title:
- ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 60(8), 1181-1191 (2025)
- Authors:
- Taubin, Daria, Oddo, Lauren E(2), Bounoua, Nadia, Bui, Hong N T, Murphy, James G, Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07779
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do college students with ADHD use more cannabis?
This study found it is not just impulsivity — students with ADHD use cannabis more specifically to cope with negative emotions. This coping motivation was the pathway linking ADHD to more frequent cannabis use over a two-week period.
How can college students with ADHD reduce cannabis use?
Since this study identified emotional coping as the key driver, targeted interventions teaching adaptive, substance-free coping skills for managing negative affect may be most effective for this population.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07779APA
Taubin, Daria; Oddo, Lauren E; Bounoua, Nadia; Bui, Hong N T; Murphy, James G; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea. (2025). ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives.. Substance use & misuse, 60(8), 1181-1191. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2491770
MLA
Taubin, Daria, et al. "ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives.." Substance use & misuse, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2491770
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirec..." RTHC-07779. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/taubin-2025-adhd-and-cannabis-use
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.